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The District Health Office, Kavre has started preparations to control the spread of dengue in the district. The district is at high risk of dengue.

Chief of District Health Office Dr Purushottam Sedhain said that the stakeholders are asked to destroy the possible breeding sites of mosquitoes and regularly clean up the factories. 

The Office is working in close collaboration with the District Disaster Management Committee.

Likewise, clinical and laboratory works are also being taken care of to reduce the risk of dengue spread in the district.

Similarly, the local levels, schools and community level health institutions have been asked to take measures against the dengue.

Furthermore, the awareness raising materials from the National Health Education of the Division of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases Control have been shared to all local levels in the district through different mediums, Dr Sedhain said.

Kavre district had first recorded the dengue in April.

According to Dr Sedhain, so far, 680 individuals are infected with the dengue in this season adding that Banepa Municipality has the highest number of cases with 487 ones.

The District Police Range, Kathmandu has arrested 1,995 convicts in different dates.

In the fiscal year 2079/80 BS, the Kathmandu Police arrested 1,995 absconding individuals who were sentenced imprisonment and punishment for being involved in different criminal activities.

Spokesperson of the District Police Range, Kathmandu, SP Sitaram Rijal said that the police arrested absconding 1,995 convicts and handed them over to the courts for the execution of judicial decisions.

The court had slapped those arrested with imprisonment of up to 176 years, seven months and 30 days. Nepal Police claimed jail sentence along with over Rs 128.79 million from them, spokesperson Rijal added.

Likewise, as many as 23,590 individuals who have been on the run after being convicted of crime by the courts in different dates are yet to be arrested, the Kathmandu Police informed.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that there is no doubt ahead in regard to implementing the Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. He pledged to implement it with utmost priority.

While inaugurating the Project's field office at Siurenitar in Gorkha, where the Project's environmental impact assessment, compensation distribution, and rehabilitation unit is located, the Prime Minister said the Project's DPR has already been prepared and it has been followed by the establishment of a company office.

 A significant part of land acquisition has been successfully completed. The government policies and programs accord utmost priority to the project, according to the Prime Minister.

"The project will see steady progress under any circumstances. All necessary documents for the project implementation have been meticulously prepared and executed. Presently, the government is focused on investment management for it. This is deemed a 'ready to go' type project. We are working hard to take it into the implementation phase soon. We have no excuse to delay it under any circumstances. I hereby direct the Energy Ministry, Nepal Electricity Authority, Budhigandaki Hydropower Company and the bodies concerned to deliver proactively for its progress."

Such projects could be a milestone in the development of the energy sector, he said, stating that the 1,200 megawatts hydropower project that provides quality contributions not only to Gorkha and Dhading districts but to the development and prosperity of the entire country is the national pride multidimensional project.

"This is the largest power generation project among the projects developed in Nepal so far. Apart from electricity, this is important also in view of tourism development, fish farming, and the holistic development of the lower coastal area," he said.

The project has carried many potentials be it from freeing the country from electricity crisis during winter to strengthening energy and tourism development, creating job opportunities, increasing the country's economic activities by increasing production in the goods and service sectors, increasing national income growths by connecting multidimensional businesses including fish farming, and requiring less investment in linking with the national transmission line, he viewed. 

The government has established the Budhigandaki hydropower company for the construction of the reservoir-based project.

On 16 July 2023, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet inaugurated the headquarters office of the company based in Kathmandu.

In the Nepali month of Asar, 2079, the government had decided to establish the company with the authorized capital of Rs 60 billion.

Today in the Nepali calendar marked two historic moments in terms of the efforts for progressing towards a just society with the abolition of two discriminatory practices in the West Terai and the Madhes.

On Shrawn 2, 2057 BS (July 17, 2000) the government made an announcement to ban the kamaiya system, a form of a bonded-labor prevalent in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Bardiya, Banke and Dang of western Nepal.  With the government declaration, over 32,500 individuals belonging to impoverished and marginalized communities in these districts were freed from the modern form of slavery.

After two decades of the banning of the kamaiya system, on Shrawn 2, 2079 BS (July 18, 2022) the government came up with a significant announcement declaring the liberation of Harawa-Charawa, the bonded laborers in the agriculture sector in the Madhes region.

But the grievance of former kamaiyas is that their real liberation from modern forms of slavery has not been realized yet.

According to Kamaiya system abolition movement leader Pashupati Chaudhary, it has been 23 years since the abolition of the kamaiya system, but still over 2300 freed kamaiya households in five districts in west Nepal are forced to live a wretched life. "The government's claim is that it has already carried out the rehabilitation of former kamaiyas, but it has not taken place in practice."

"The KP Sharma Oli-led government handed the responsibilities of rehabilitating the freed kamaiys to the local government, since then the process has remained stalled. As a result, former kamiayas have been pushed towards vulnerable works," he said. 

The Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2058 (2002) bans all sorts of bonded workers and traditions, but the sustainable liberation of them has not been possible yet, people concerned said.

Rights activist Sanjaya Mahara said the abolition of bonded labor, forms of modern slavery, was indeed a welcoming and historic step, but the persistent lack of availability of sustainable means of livelihood for them continued to affect the target groups adversely.

The Ministry of Land Reform and Management amassed the details of kamaiyas in 2057 BS and 2059 BS and categorized them in four groups from A to D. As per the government data, 27,021 former kamaiyas were provided land and shelter.

Vice-Chairperson and Spokesperson of the National Land Commission, Naresh Khadka, said complaints are receiving that Kamaiya have not still got rid of problems in lack of rehabilitation even after being freed from Kamaiya since long.

He said that the problems could be resolved to some extent if landless Dalits, landless squatters file complaints within the jurisdiction of the Commission.

Spokesperson Khadka said, "Although the Commission's jurisdiction does not incorporate freed kamaiya, haliya and harawa charawa, land ownership certificate of the land they are using can be provided keeping the problems and recommendations pointed out by study task force formed in different times."

He further said the government should resolve the problems through an appropriate work procedure as they have been receiving some complaints that the land provided by the government to free Kamaiya is only on paper.

Harawa charawa of Madhes are also worried thinking their problems might not be resolved for years like the freed kamaiya.

National Harawa Charawa Rights Forum, Darshan Lal Mandal, said although the government declared Harawa Charawa free one year ago, data collection and rehabilitation programmes have not been moved ahead so far.

He urged to forward the rehabilitation programmes immediately as per the four-point agreement signed with Forum.

Similarly, Advocate and Right Activist Balaram Bhattarai pointed out that the government has to take effective steps for appropriate rehabilitation of Harawa Charawa as keeping bonded labour is an insult to democracy and against the constitution.

The government announced the end of all practices related to bonded labor after promulgation of Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2058 on February 21, 2002.

As per this, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government on September 6, 2008, had announced the free- Haliya system. 

Similarly, the announcement of free-kamalahari system was made on July 18, 2013.

A total of 22 rhinos died during the last fiscal year in Chitwan National Park.

Of them, two died due to poaching and 20 of natural causes.

A rhino and a calf were killed in early January by poachers at the Narayani River Bank in Madhyabindu Municipality-2, said information officer of the park, Ganesh Prasad Tiwari.

However, the number of rhinos dying due to natural causes has been decreasing. Altogether 43 rhinos had died due to natural causes in the fiscal year 2075/76.

This number decreased to 26 in the year 2076/77, 39 in 2077/78 and 35 in 2078/79.

According to the latest count, there are 694 rhinos in Chitwan National Park.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has started a coordinated initiative to address the problems concerning the human settlements in the river corridors of Kathmandu Valley.

Accordingly, the meeting of heads and officers of relevant ministries and agencies held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha on Monday concluded that the concerned agencies should work together to solve the long-standing problem. It was agreed that the high-powered committee for integrated development of Bagmati Civilization, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the National Land Commission should meet soon to resolve the problem within a fixed time.

The meeting decided to form a task force with representation from the Ministries of Home, Urban Development, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Land Management and Poverty Alleviation and High-powered committee for integrated development of Bagmati Civilization, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the National Land Commission, Kathmandu Valley Development Authority.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha stressed on the need to work in a coordinated manner to remove the unauthorized settlements in the Bagmati Corridor and said the removal of the slums would be completed in conjunction with the resettlement plan of the real slum dwellers.

Minister for Urban Development Sita Gurung reminded that the government's policy and program and budget mentions relocating the settlements in the river corridor. However, in the name of removing slums, the rights of real squatters should not be violated or denied.

Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Amanlal Modi said that the ministry is ready to coordinate with the local level to solve the problems concerning the settlements in the river corridors.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Sah said that he expected the help of the Ministry of Home Affairs to remove the unorganized settlements of the Bagmati Corridor.

One hundred and fifty four local bodies have not yet submitted the particulars of endorsement of their annual budget even after the start of the new fiscal year.

According to the 'Budget Update of Local Levels for Fiscal Year 2080/81' prepared by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, 20.45 per cent of the local levels are found 'without budget' as of 2.30 pm today. The number of local levels that have passed their annual budgets until that time is 599.

The Ministry said the highest number of local levels not endorsing their budget until the start of the new fiscal year is in Madhesh Province. Sixty-three local bodies in this province have not brought their budget. The lowest number of such local bodies is in Karnali province. Only four local bodies in Karnali province have not brought their budget.

Twenty-nine local bodies in Koshi province, 24 in Bagmati province, seven in Gandaki province, 14 in Lumbini province and 13 in Sudurpaschim province have not provided information on the passage of their annual budget.

Assistant spokesperson at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Ashwin Kumar Pokharel said a high number of local bodies are seen not bringing their annual budget as even the municipalities that have passed their budget have not entered information about that in the Ministry's centralized system.

"Although many local bodies have passed the budget, they have not entered that in the portal. We estimate not more than 20 local bodies have not presented their budget so far," he said. The Ministry's assistant spokesperson said a circular has been sent to all the local bodies that have not entered the information about their budget in the Ministry's portal.

The Ministry, on Sunday, sent letters to all local bodies and the District Coordination Committee, urging them to update information on the presentation of the annual budget for fiscal year 2080/81 BS and the passage of the same by their respective Town or Rural Municipal Assembly.

Domestic airline companies in Nepal have recently announced the implementation of value-added tax (VAT) on their services, starting today.

The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal issued a press note today, informing the public about their decision to incorporate VAT in domestic airfares, aligning with the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2023-24.

Consequently, the fares for domestic services have increased by up to six percent. As a result of this VAT inclusion, passengers will now experience a slight rise in the costs of domestic air travel.